US Accused of Abusing Afghan Prisoners

A commission set up by Afghan President Hamid Karzai is making serious accusations against a U.S.-run prison.

In a report released to the media Saturday, the commission accused the United States of abusing and torturing Afghans held at a prison near Bagram air base, north of the capital of Kabul.

The report contains few details of the alleged incidents. But commission member Mohammad Amin Ahmadi told reporters detainees listed a slew of complaints, ranging from being denied access to a lawyer to being tortured with gas. He said some prisoners also complained that they were still held even after being cleared of any wrong doing.

Commission President Gul Rahman Qazi called on the U.S. to hand control of the prison to the Afghan government immediately, echoing similar demands made by President Karzai.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul told the Associated Press Saturday that American officials only received the commission's report after members spoke to the media. He said the U.S. investigates all allegations of prisoner abuse.

Afghan and U.S. officials have been involved in a series of discussions on how to transfer prisoners from U.S. to Afghan control.